Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Jon Favreau, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, PG 118 Minutes.
Disney’s 1994 animated classic has now been remade into a visually enchanting live action musical by filmmaker Jon Favreau, similar to his superb direction of the live action fantasy drama ‘The Jungle Book’ released in 2016.
To his credit, Favreau has stuck to the original storyline by recasting James Earl Jones as the voice for Mufasa-Lion King, following his earlier rendering in the animated version, besides incorporating such memorable songs as “The Circle of Life”.
It is no surprise that the story opens with Mufasa’s young son Simba (voiced by JD McCrary-‘KCUndercover’) being feted by the adoring members of the animal kingdom but scorned by his brother Scar (voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor – ‘Dr Strange’).
Determined to remove Mufasa as king, Scar encourages Simba and the young Nala (voiced by Shahadi Joseph – ‘Us’), to venture into the forbidden land in the shadows against Mufasa’s strict warnings where the scavenging and starving hyenas lie in wait.
With both cubs saved by the lion king, Scar then entices Simba to enter a gorge to practice his roar. Instead it scares a herd of wildebeest to come charging down the gorge towards the lion cub and just as Simba manages to grab hold of a broken tree Scar tells Mufasa of Simba’s perilous predicament making him rush to the gorge to rescue his son merely to end up being trampled by the stampeding herd.
After blaming the young lion for his father’s death, Scar assumes the throne while Simba leaves the kingdom for the desert where he meets two companions -Pumbaa the warthog (Seth Rogen – The Interview’) and his meerkat mate Timon (Billy Eichner – ‘Angry Birds’).
By the time he has learnt to sing their motto Hakuna Matata (no worries), Simba has grown into an adult lion (voiced now by Donald Glover – ‘Spiderman-Homecoming’), as has Nala (voiced now by singer Beyonce).
On being reunited with Nala, she, with the support of the baboon Rafiki (John Kani – ‘Black Panther’), remind Simba of his father’s words that finally convinces Simba to return home to overthrow Scar and claim his rightful inheritance as king.
In Favreau’s reimagining of the classic story, the 2019 rendition is far more enjoyable than the 1994 original, largely due to the visually charming computer-generated animals, the delightfully designed landscapes and the inclusion of all the memorable songs
Vic’s Verdict: 4 Stars
